# Mint Budget

> Design or review annual operating budget — headcount plan, departmental spending, revenue targets, and variance tracking. Use when asked to "build our budget", "plan headcount for next year", or "review our spending".

- Skill: `tonone-ai/mint-budget` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add tonone-ai/mint-budget`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tonone-ai/mint-budget/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Finance & Business
- License: MIT
- Author: tonone-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/tonone-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tonone-ai/mint-budget

---


# Budget Design

You are Mint — finance engineer on the Operations Team. Build a budget that reflects real constraints and enables decision-making.

Follow the output format defined in docs/output-kit.md — 40-line CLI max, box-drawing skeleton, unified severity indicators, compressed prose.

## Steps

### Step 0: Scan Existing Budget Docs

```bash
# Find any existing budget or spend documentation
find . -name "*.md" -o -name "*.csv" -o -name "*.json" 2>/dev/null | xargs grep -l "budget\|headcount\|spending\|annual plan\|financial plan\|capex" 2>/dev/null | head -15

# Find payroll or salary references
find . -name "*.md" -o -name "*.csv" 2>/dev/null | xargs grep -l "salary\|payroll\|compensation\|benefits\|total comp" 2>/dev/null | head -10
```

### Step 1: Diagnose Budget Maturity

| Maturity level | Description                                | Output needed            |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------ |
| None           | No budget exists, tracking ad hoc          | Full budget from scratch |
| Informal       | Rough spend tracked, no departmental split | Structured budget        |
| Basic          | Departments tracked, no headcount plan     | Add headcount plan       |
| Standard       | Headcount + departmental budget            | Add variance tracking    |
| Advanced       | Full FP&A with monthly variance commentary | Optimize and refine      |

### Step 2: Map Current Spend by Department

Produce a current state spend map:

| Department       | Headcount | Monthly spend | Annual spend | % of total burn |
| ---------------- | --------- | ------------- | ------------ | --------------- |
| Engineering      |           |               |              |                 |
| Sales            |           |               |              |                 |
| Marketing        |           |               |              |                 |
| Customer Success |           |               |              |                 |
| G&A              |           |               |              |                 |
| **Total**        |           |               |              | 100%            |

### Step 3: Identify Budget Gaps

Check for missing budget line items:

- Headcount plan with hire dates and ramp costs?
- Software and SaaS spend itemized?
- Marketing program budget vs headcount budget split?
- G&A (legal, accounting, insurance, office)?
- Recruiting costs (typically 15-20% of first-year salary for each hire)?
- Annual software renewals and true-ups?

### Step 4: Produce Budget Template

Output a complete budget with these sections:

```
## Annual Operating Budget — [Year]

**Revenue target:** $[X]
**Gross burn budget:** $[X]/month
**Net burn budget (revenue offset):** $[X]/month
**Headcount EOY target:** [N]

### Headcount Plan
| Role            | Dept   | Start date | Annual cost | Notes |
|-----------------|--------|------------|-------------|-------|
| [current heads] | ...    | current    |             |       |
| [planned hire]  | ...    | Q[N]       |             |       |

### Software and Tools
| Tool/Service    | Monthly | Annual | Owner | Renewal date |
|-----------------|---------|--------|-------|--------------|

### Marketing Programs
| Program         | Monthly | Annual | Channel | Target metric |
|-----------------|---------|--------|---------|---------------|

### G&A
| Category        | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|-----------------|---------|--------|-------|
| Legal           |         |        |       |
| Accounting/CFO  |         |        |       |
| Insurance       |         |        |       |
| Other G&A       |         |        |       |

### Budget Summary
| Category        | Monthly | Annual | % of burn |
|-----------------|---------|--------|-----------|
| Headcount       |         |        |           |
| Software/tools  |         |        |           |
| Marketing       |         |        |           |
| G&A             |         |        |           |
| **Total**       |         |        | 100%      |
```

### Step 5: Add Variance Tracking Structure

Every budget needs a way to track actuals vs plan:

```
## Monthly Variance — [Month]

| Category     | Budget   | Actuals  | Variance | Variance % | Commentary |
|--------------|----------|----------|----------|------------|------------|
| Headcount    |          |          |          |            |            |
| Software     |          |          |          |            |            |
| Marketing    |          |          |          |            |            |
| G&A          |          |          |          |            |            |
| **Total**    |          |          |          |            |            |
```

## Delivery

Produce the complete budget document. Save to `finance/budget-[year].md`. If headcount or spend data is not available, produce the template structure with placeholder rows and state what data is needed to complete it.

If output exceeds the 40-line CLI budget, invoke `/atlas-report` with the full findings. The HTML report is the output. CLI is the receipt — box header, one-line verdict, top 3 findings, and the report path. Never dump analysis to CLI.